An incremental treaty agreement has been signed between the Province and Lake Babine Nation and will support new forestry and eco-tourism opportunities. The agreement supports economic development for the First Nation, but also demonstrates some of the benefits of treaty in advance of a final agreement. The agreement transfers to the Nation four parcels of land that will support opportunities…

Actress Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves) was among a dozen or so women in West Vancouver March 22 to protest the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline. The women were primarily Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish and Musqueam First Nations members. Greenpeace campaigners joined them. The Wall of Woman gathered at the Welcome Figure at Ambleside Beach to tell Kinder Morgan the…

The Liberal government has cut a summer ferry run between Port Hardy on Vancouver Island and Bella Coola on the Central Coast and has sunk the communities’ hopes of attracting tourists to the territories. The Aboriginal Tourism Association of B.C. has invested $1.5 million over two years in the coastal area, but has been forced to rethink its tourism campaign. The government says the run…

On March 20, the Kwakiutl protest near Port Hardy on Vancouver Island reached a 50-day milestone. Protesters are calling on Island Timberlands to suspend logging on Kwakiutl lands and asking the federal and provincial governments to honor the terms of the 1851 Treaty and implement ‘enclosed fields’ for the protection of village sites. “We ask Island Timberlands to respect Kwakiutl’s 1851…

First
Nations leaders on the Sunshine Coast are calling for Ottawa to study the
impact of Fukushima radiation on the West Coast fishery. A March 2011 tsunami
in Japan resulted in a catastrophic failure of the Fukushima nuclear site and
radiation has been detected (barely) in BC coastal waters, said an ocean
science division manager with the Department of Fisheries…

The Haisla First Nation wants Ottawa to delay a decision on the Northern Gateway
pipeline because a quick approval “would be illegal,” without meaningful
consultation with Aboriginal groups. A decision on Gateway is expected by July,
following a report last year that found projected economic benefits from the
project outweighed environmental risks. Environmental groups…

The third annual Moosehide Campaign to end violence against Aboriginal women and children
took to the steps of the BC legislature Feb. 20. Men from both the Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal communities came together to denounce the violence and
pledge to speak up against violence in their communities. The event was organized by the B.C.
Association of Aboriginal…

The former Lieutenat Governor of British Columbia, Steven Point, has been
appointed as a judge in Abbottsford in the Fraser Valley Region. He was one of two judges to be
appointed to the British Columbia Provincial Court to help alleviate caseload
pressures and improve access to justice, Attorney General and Minister of
Justice Suzanne Anton said. Judge Point's…

John Rustad, B.C.’S Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, was in Fort
St. John to talk about the progress made at the First Nations LNG Summit. He
said liquefied natural gas provides a big opportunity to the province and there
is a chance for First Nations to participate in the industry. “There’s been a series of summits to
discuss what liquefied natural…

Tsawwassen First Nation began construction in January on two malls after two years of planning and site preparation. Tsawwassen Mills and Tsawwassen Commons are destination retail developments being constructed in partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge and Property Development Group, respectively, on the First Nation’s lands. Bass Pro Shops is the first of several major marquee retailers…

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s special energy project envoy may have delivered some optimistic words for bringing together the Crown, First Nations and industry in B.C., but nonetheless the province’s Indigenous leaders declared that Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline remains dead in the water.

A renowned Lummi Nation carver is helping solidify connections between Indigenous allies north of the border fighting a raft of fossil fuel megaprojects, from coal exports to pipelines to Alberta’s oil sands.

Windspeaker has learned that Jewell James, a celebrated carver who also serves as director of the Lummi Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office, is to carve a large pole to be…

Victoria, Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations are in talks to use an ancient burial area in Beacon Hill Park for the re-interment of First Nations remains discovered at construction sites. “If you were at the top of the hill at the pavilion and you were looking down toward Dallas Road, it is off to your left. You can see cairns — rock outcroppings — and that’s a traditional burial site and…

Coastal First Nations executive director Art Sterritt said the new pipeline framework agreement between Premiers Christy Clark and Alison Redford, announced Nov. 4, is good news forcing the Alberta government to recognize First Nations consultation rights. “For once the Alberta government has recognized that BC First Nations have Aboriginal rights and title, and what they don’t understand very…

Natives near Kamloops and Chase say the expansion of a section of the Trans-Canada Highway cuts through Secwepemc ancient village sites. The Ministry of Transportation plans to widen 7.5 km of the highway near Pritchard calling it a “major and much-anticipated safety and mobility improvement that’s very important to all motorists.” The ministry appreciates the First Nations heritage and…